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Michael J. Fox had fans welling up as he delivered a brief monologue during the opening sequence for this year’s Actor Awards.
The awards show, which took place Sunday in Los Angeles, opened with a number of actors including Kristen Wiig, Teyana Taylor and Delroy Lindo speaking about their careers.
Fox, 64, then appeared on screen, receiving generous applause from his peers in attendance, and spoke about meeting his wife Tracy Pollan while shooting the sitcom Family Ties before paying tribute to her, and his children.
The Back to the Future star was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, and has made limited screen appearances in recent years as his condition has worsened.
On X, there was a widespread outpouring of love and support for Fox and his surprise appearance.
Michael J Fox had fans ‘tearing up’ with a surprise appearance at the Actor Awards (Netflix)
One fan wrote: “The clip of Michael J. Fox speaking at The Actor Awards really got to me. Hearing him talk about acting giving him a family hits different when you know everything he’s been through. What a legend—still showing up and saying exactly what matters.”
Another added: “And within less than 15mins the Actor Awards got me tearing up! Michael J Fox is one of my favorite actors…good to see he’s doing well.”
One said: “Raise your hand if you cried and woo-hoo’ed when Michael J. Fox appeared in the intro…”
A fourth wrote: “It was such an awesome surprise to see Michael J. Fox at the awards! He looks great!!”
In another emotional moment later in the ceremony, Seth Rogen paid tribute to Catherine O’Hara as she won an Actor Award weeks after her death at 71.
O’Hara received the posthumous award for her work in The Studio, the Apple TV+ Hollywood satire led by Seth Rogen. She played Patty Leigh, a former studio head and mentor to Rogen’s character Matt Remick.
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Rogen accepted the award on her behalf, delivering a heartfelt speech while many of those in the audience were brought to tears.
“I, obviously, have been reflecting on the time I was fortunate enough to spend with her, working with her, and something that I’ve just been marveling at over the last few weeks was really her ability to be generous and kind, while never ever minimizing her own ability to contribute to the work that we were doing,” he said. “She knew she could destroy, and she wanted to destroy every day on set.”
See the full list of Actor Awards winners here.